3508 Hamilton Street
“three-story Italianate style house, stuccoed.
Flat roof with bracketed overhang. Circa 1900 Colonial Revival porch”
(Inventory of
Buildings in Powelton from the application submitted to the National Register of Historic
Places, 1985)
History
1860: James L. Robinson probably purchased the land from Richard
Smethurst in 1859.
1860:
Elijah D.
Marshall 46 Wool & Cotton print co.; real estate: $3,000; personal:
$40,000
Mary R. Marshall 25 Born
in Mass.
Mary E. Marshall 1
Nat Condon 21 Servant; female; born in Ireland
The 1858 directory lists Elijah D.
Marshall & Co., calico engravers, home: 115 N. 15th St.
1861 Directory: Elijah D. Marshall.
He is listed several times. The address is
given as Hamilton above 35th one time and Hamilton below 36th
another time. He
was a calico print manufacturer at 30th and Race St.
1866 Directory: Elija D. Marshall,
Hamilton above 35th, 4th house.
In 1880, they lived at 1825 21st St.
1866, Oct. 26: Title transferred to J. Emlin
Maris by James L. Robinson
1870:
John E. Maris 45 Wholesale
druggist
Mary E. Maris 39
Caroline S. Maris 13
Franklin Maris 11
Charles C. Maris 4
Annie Wallan 18 Domestic servant; black; born in MD
1880:
J. Emlen Maris 54 Merchant
Mary C. Maris 48
Caroline J. Maris
23
Franklin S. Maris
21 Clerk
Charles E. Maris 14 At
school
Mary H. Maris 4
Martha Thomas 28 Servant;
black; parents born in Del.
1883: Death of J. Emlen Maris, 58 years
old, son of the late Jesse J. Maris; funeral from his late residence 3508
Hamilton St.
1884, March 28: Sold by Mary C. Maris to Sylvania Penn Gilbert
for $8,500. (Phila. Inquirer, April 4,
1884)
1887 Directory: Joseph Gilbert, shirts, 829 Arch St. and 620
Chestnut St.
Henry L. Gilbert, student
Leon Gilbert, clerk
Frank
Wells,
clerk
In 1880, they lived at
829 Arch St., probably above their shirt store. Joseph was a shirt maker and his son,
Henry, worked in the store.
During the Civil War, Joseph served in the 91st Regiment
Pennsylvania Volunteers Co. C. from September, 1861 to
July, 1865. He was promoted to Captain
in February, 1865.
1890 Directory:
Joseph Gilbert, 620 Chestnut & 829 Arch
Henry L. Gilbert
Leon H. Gilbert
In
1895, Leon was living at 3620 Hamilton St.
1898 Blue Book: Joseph Gilbert was a member of the Powelton Club.
(For a brief history of the club, see the Powelton History Blog.)
1900:
Joseph Gilbert 58 Shirt manufacturer; father born in N.J.,
mother in Germany; owner, free of a mortgage
Sylvania P. Gilbert 55 Married 36 years, 4 children; parents
born in England
Sylvania B. Gilbert 24
Dorah Barrett 21 Servant; born in Ireland, immigrated in
1894
The Gilberts moved to
Abington, Montgomery Co., Pa.
Joseph died on Jan. 25, 1910.
1904, June 23:
Death of Rev. Henry Lee Gilbert, Ph. D. at Caldwell, N.Y., aged 38 years;
funeral at the home of his parents, 3508 Hamilton St.
1905, Jun. 30: Title
transferred to Mary A. McAdams by Sylvania Penn Gilbert
1909, Dec. 3: Death
of Mary A. McAdams, wife of the late Frank McAdams of 3508 Hamilton St.;
funeral services at Christ P. E. Church, 2nd St. above Market St.
Title transferred to
Annie Murta by will
1910:
Catherine Murta 75 Widowed, 5
children, 5 surviving; born in Ireland, immigrated in 1840; owner, free of a
mortgage
Annie Murta 46 parents born in Ireland
Ellen Murta 39
Purchasing agent; parents born in
Ireland
Francis Pollock 55 Sister; single; born in N.Y., parents
born in Ireland
Blossie Carrington 22 Servant; black; parents born in Va.
In 1900, they lived at 3514 Spring Garden St. Ellen was a school
teacher and Francis Pollock was working in women’s and children’s suits. Catherine’s son, John P. Murta,
was a hardware dealer.
He was 36 years old. Catherine was married to John Murta.
He was born in Dublin. During the Civil War, he fought for
the Confederacy. He
was a Private in the Louisiana Infantry, 13th Regiment, Co. C. He ended the War
as a prisoner at Ft. Miflin in Philadelphia. In 1873, he
enlisted in the U. S. Army.
In 1880, he was still in the Army and they were living at 1425
Vine St.
1913, Feb. 26:
Death of Catherine Murta, 77 years old, of 3508 Hamilton
St.
1920:
Annie Murta 54 Single; parents born in Ireland; owner,
free of a mortgage
Ellen Murta 49 Sister; secretary in a doctor’s office;
parents born in Ireland
Frances Pollock 69 Aunt; single; born in N.Y. parents born
in Ireland
Raymond K. Denworth 32 Lodger; lawyer
Hugh F. Denworth 28 Lodger; sales
manager for an ice cream factory
Rose M. Schroeder 28 Lodger; secretary in a doctor’s office;
born in Illinois, father born in Iowa, mother in Quebec, Canada
(French-speaking)
Lula Smith 27 Servant; black; born in Va.
Raymond and Hugh Denworth both attended Swarthmore College. Raymond Denworth
was Editor-in-Chief of the University of
Pennsylvania Law Review in 1917.
Hugh Denworth’s 1917 Draft Registration lists his place of birth
as Williamsport, Pa. He
was living in a University of Pennsylvania dormitory at 37th and
Spruce. He
listed his occupations as instructor and assistant to the director of a food
supply company.
1930:
Anna Murta 67 Single; parents born in Northern
Ireland; owner, house valued at $15,000
Frances Pollock 75 Aunt; single; born in Pa. (?) parents
born in Northern Ireland
1940:
Anna Murta 77 Single; 8 years of schooling; owner,
house valued at $6,000
Frances Pollock 89 Aunt; single; 8 years of schooling; born
in NY
1942, June 4: Death of Ann Murta, 79 years old, of
3508 Hamilton St.
The property was inherited by John P. Murta and Katherine Adams by will.
Frances Pollock died March 5, 1944. She was living
at Pine Manor, 5019 Pine St.
1943, May 20: Title
transferred to William and Letitia Anderson by John P. Murta
and Katherine Adams
1949, Apr. 18: Title
transferred to Britton Chance by William and Letitia Anderson
Britton
Chance, 1935
(Penn Archives)
Britton Chance was a
student and then a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. The University
Archives provides a brief biography including the following: “Britton Chance
was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1913. He spent the summers of his
youth sailing and fishing in Antilles and the Panama Canal Zone. While still a
teenager, his enthusiasm for sailing led to his invention of an autosteering
device that detected any deviation of a ship from its course and then provided
a signal to correct the ship's steering.
“Britton Chance spent
his college years at the University of Pennsylvania, earning his BS degree in
1935 and then remaining for his graduate work. While an undergraduate, Chance
was a member of Alpha Chi Sigma, Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Tau - all professional
and honorary societies in engineering and chemistry…..
“Britton Chance first
became a member of the Penn faculty in 1941 when he was appointed Assistant
Professor of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry in the School of Medicine.
After World War II, Chance traveled to Stockholm on a Guggenheim Fellowship to
work for two years with scientist Hugo Theorell before returning to the
University of Pennsylvania. Chance continued at Penn as Professor of Biophysics
and Physical Biochemistry from 1949 until 1983; he was also the Director of the
E.R. Johnson Foundation in the School of Medicine for this entire period. Since
1983 he has continued at the University as a very active emeritus professor. In
1995 he was appointed President of the Medical Diagnostic Research Foundation
(MDRF) in Philadelphia
“Britton Chance has
made important contributions not only in the identification of and functioning
of enzyme-substrate compounds, but also in such varied areas of magnetic
resonance spectroscopy in humans, the mathematics of the inverse problem, rf
electronics, light transport in highly scattering media, breast cancer diagnostics,
and muscle dynamics. His pioneering research has transformed the field of
biomedical optics, including his efforts to develop spectroscopy as a
noninvasive analytical tool for clinical diagnosis. He was elected to the
National Academy of Science in 1954;… The
Stellar-Chance Laboratories at the University of Pennsylvania, dedicated in
1995, are named after him.
“Chance continued his
love of sailing in his adult life. His skill and his competitive spirit earned
him a spot on the U.S. sailing team at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics; he won an
Olympic gold medal when his 31-foot sailboat, the Complex II (named after an
elusive compound in an enzyme reaction), won three of its seven races. His
lifelong interest in athletics encouraged him to later develop a device that
improved the performance of athletes by monitoring chemical changes in their
muscles.”
1950 Directory: Britton Chance
1954, July 9: Title
transferred to John M. and Rosemary Marshall by Britton Chance
1959: “FHA Loan Initiative Powelton Plan.
“The first FHA mortgage commitment initiating
Powelton Village’s self-help program was presented last night to Dr. John
Marshall, of 3508 Hamilton st., a University of
Pennsylvania faculty member and a pioneer in the civic group which helped
organize the plan.
“Last month the FHA certified the West Philadelphia
neighborhood as an Urban Renewal area. The certification, which does not
provide for direct Federal aid, makes residents eligible for Federally-insured
mortgage loans.” (Inquirer, June 2)
1960: John Marshall
was chair of the Home Improvement Committee of Powelton Neighbors
1972: “Religious Society of Friends, Meetings for Worship… Powelton, 3508
Hamilton St. 10:00”
(Inquirer, April 8).
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Revised: 12/10/2021